Christopher Thomas’s research while affiliated with John Jay College of Criminal Justice and other places

This paper explores sex market facilitators' (SMFs') sex trade rules or ‘facilitation styles,’ work dyads, the use of violence, and attitudes about sex workers. We interviewed 37 SMFs in New York City who facilitated sex work ‘long-term’ (for at least five years). SMFs exhibited a range of trade rules, many of which were about maintaining control over the work setting and sex workers. Those who worked in groups of two or more had more controlling styles that were rarely conflict-free. SMFs whose operations had more organizational structure often used main sex workers as extensions of control and used violence to enforce rules. Those with controlling behaviors justified them in gendered ways, e.g., sex workers' competency to do their jobs, manage their own money, and organize their lives. In contrast, SMFs with less controlling styles did not rely on violence and often included sex workers in decisions. Many ‘long-term’ SMFs have co-offending groups and use control and violence to enforce rules. The results of this study show patterns in SMF operations unique to how lower socioeconomic status and more street-based businesses in the sex trade function.

Using a mixed-method approach, we explored how 85 sex market facilitators used neutralization and subcultural discourse to present themselves in the interview setting. We used non-metric, Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) to test discursive themes that resulted in a three-fold model with the themes ‘good,’’bad,’ and ‘badass me’ with externalizing and internalizing approaches. The ‘good me’ subtype focused on fundamentally being a ”nice guy” but blaming acts on oppression. ‘Bad me” focused on being ”innately bad” but blaming outside factors and neutralizing ‘bad me.’ ‘Badass me’ centered on high-status feelings of pimping but also expressing guilt about it. This model may be helpful for researchers or practitioners interviewing or working with sex market facilitators, such as pimps or sex traffickers.

This study analyzes semi-structured interviews with 85 pimps in New York City to explore how pimps discuss their economic pathways-i.e., how their pimping leads to distinct types of work outcomes and how they discuss their associated feelings and attitudes. We compare younger (18-23) to older (24-67) pimps, anticipating that younger participants would be more adaptive and produce discourse less entrenched in outsider thinking. Pimps' movements between licit and illicit work worlds mirror those of drifters (Matza, 1964) and align with Murphy and Robinson's (2008) concept of maximizers (i.e., economically benefiting from both work worlds simultaneously). Younger pimps, despite their at-risk status, boast of several distinct advantages in moving between worlds, such as flexibility and technological savvy. How pimps' experiences in both worlds connect to insider (mainstream orientation) or outsider discourse (oppositional orientation) is also examined. Many older pimps who identify as 'hustlers' express oppositional discourse that aligns with Sandberg's (2009) 'gangster' discourse. Those pimping to survive tend to express 'oppression' discourse. Despite their at-risk statuses, many younger pimps demonstrate a hybrid (insider/outsider) orientation, which is one of versatility where participants describe an ability to master both illicit and licit worlds or at least maximize their opportunities by participating in both worlds. https://www.jqcjc.org/documents/v7i3.pdf#page=69

The State Department ranks countries on adherence to minimum standards set forth by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000. The Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) is updated annually and failure to enact changes to combat trafficking results in higher tier rankings. This paper evaluates the TIP by situating this tool in light of special features of the modern era, such as globalization and risk. Through a survey of the theoretical literature on risk and on trafficking risk factors, we devise six preliminary risk clusters and discuss how the TIP could incorporate governments’ response to trafficking risk factors into the ranking system. Our intentions are to spark debate about how risk factors could be incorporated in the TIP, to provide a preliminary model and to encourage further research in this area.